On this day, May 30th, 1967, the world lost perhaps the finest example of a character actor to ever grace the screen, stage, and radio waves, Mr. William Claude Rains. His legacy as an actor is still remembered by audiences today. On our blog, we've taken pride in sharing pictures, polls, and clips for a while and hope to continue on as long as we can. Today, we'd like to share some extra special things to honor such an incredible and memorable legacy.
(if you made it this far, thank you all so much for sticking with this blog after all this time :))
Captain Louis Renault (Casablanca) - The best and most iconic character of the entire film, if not the entire movie genre. He is what makes this movie possible and I honestly couldn't imagine it without him. Claude's back must've hurt from absolutely carrying this film and according to records, he finished his filming for Now, Voyager and literally the next day, jumped right into shooting for Casablanca. That's dedication right there. I adore Renault, his stupid mustache, and he has more rizz in that right eyebrow than more people do in their entire bodies. I wouldn't need convincing in order to get an exit visa from him. He oozes charm and has the perfect velvety voice in order to carry out his orders (when he feels like it!) and plays both sides to perfection. I desire him carnally (can I put that here?) and he's such a special character and he's what brought me into the wonderful world of old movies. To me, he'll always be the true King of the Claudes!
Erique Claudin (Phantom of the Opera) - My favorite Phantom! Does it differ wildly from the book? Yes. Do I care? NO! Claudin starts the movie by BREAKING YOUR HEART IN TWO and then after the first act he gets to lean into the creep factor by murdering people who get in the way of him helping his daughter achieve her opera goals. While the father/daughter story was cut from the final film, you can 100% see it in Claude Rains' wonderful performance that this is a man so filled with regret at leaving his infant daughter 20 years ago, that he is willing to do anything to help her succeed…even if she doesn't know that he's the one helping her.
This is the final match up for The King of the Claudes Tournament! Other polls and results can be found here!
Additional Propaganda under the cut!
**Both of these fine Claudes have a lot of propaganda, so we are attaching what we can and making another separate propaganda post to include all submissions, which you can find HERE!**
Captain Louis Renault
I love him. He is a liar, a manipulator, and corrupt beyond the telling. He also has a soft spot a mile wide and a snarkiness that has genuinely become commonly used. He is a wonderful little rat-man and I. Love. Him.
Erique Claudin
This movie is gorgeous and the storytelling is a masterpiece! I don't care what anyone says, this is my favorite adaptation of Phantom and Claude sells it perfectly. He's excellent at toeing the line between a masked mad man and a caring individual and I will be forever fuming about how the father/daughter relationship wasn't official. To me, it will be! He's just the right amount of soft fondness and I was squealing because of how adorable he is when he stammers.
How tall is Claude Rains actually? I've seen a lot of discourse online especially with using lifts and having a ramp installed for the scene in Notorious.
